No. 8 Johns Hopkins women’s lacrosse coughs up four-goal halftime lead in 13-9 loss to No. 6 Michigan

This one might sting for Johns Hopkins women’s lacrosse.

After sprinting to a four-goal advantage by halftime, the No. 8 Blue Jays scored just once in the second half and wilted in a 13-9 loss to No. 6 Michigan in a critical Big Ten tilt Sunday afternoon before an announced 400 at Homewood Field.

For the second straight game and the third time this spring, Johns Hopkins failed to turn a multiple-goal lead into victory. It led 8-6 in the second quarter against No. 7 Loyola Maryland before the Greyhounds rallied for a 17-14 win on Feb. 21.

The Blue Jays scored the first three goals against No. 4 Maryland, but the Terps roared back for a 13-8 triumph on Wednesday night. Coach Tim McCormack acknowledged the disappointment in watching the team let another game slip through its grasp.

“It’s frustrating to be on the sideline when that happens or whatever the case is,” he said. “We’ll just go back to the drawing board and continue to keep playing our game and keep it focused on us and just do what we do.”

Sunday’s loss might be even more exasperating considering how differently Johns Hopkins (10-5, 2-3 Big Ten) fared in the first and second halves. In the game’s opening 30 minutes, the Blue Jays outshot the Wolverines, 17-7, controlled nine of 13 draws, and earned a 10-6 advantage in ground balls en route to enjoying an 8-4 lead at halftime.

The second half was an exercise in how quickly things turned. Michigan scored all four goals of the third quarter and the first two of the fourth for a 6-0 run in a 16:38 stretch. The burst was fueled by back-to-back goals from senior midfielder Ava Class in a 1:40 span and capped by goals from junior attackers Jane Fetterolf and Kaylee Dyer 28 seconds apart.

Junior attacker Jill Smith paced the Wolverines (14-1, 4-1) with game highs in both goals (five) and points (six). She said she and her teammates needed time to adjust to how aggressive the Blue Jays defense played.

“They were pressuring us a little bit more than we thought they would,” said Smith, who raised her career goal total to 125 and eclipsed Kim Coughlan’s school record of 124 goals from 2014 to 2017. “In the first half, that shocked us a little bit, and we were a little passive with that. But in the second half, we knew that we could beat the first one, draw a slide, pass it on, and I think that momentum helped us the whole half, and obviously, it showed in the score. We weren’t looking for the first shot, which really helped us get to those second layers.”

By the time graduate student midfielder Bailey Cheetham converted a free-position opportunity from the left side of the arc early in the fourth quarter, Johns Hopkins had gone 23:26 without finding the net. And even after drawing within 10-9 at that point, Michigan scored three unanswered goals to cement the victory.

Wolverines coach Hannah Nielsen said she thought the defense didn’t make too many changes between the two halves.

“I thought the defense was playing well in the first half, but they had to play too much defense,” she said. “We weren’t winning draws, and I think they scored three man-up goals. So I thought we were playing OK defensively. They just got the ball on the ground a little bit more. Hopkins is insanely good with the ball movement and their stick skills. We just put the ball on the ground a little bit more, and our goalie made some great saves.”

That goalie, junior Erin O’Grady, finished with eight saves, including two as the Blue Jays tried to mount a comeback in the final frame. She stoned junior attacker Ashley Mackin on a point-blank attempt and then made a stick save against graduate student attacker Maeve Barker on a free-position chance from the right side of the arc.

“The kid made a couple of good saves, and sometimes that can get you thinking a little bit about your next shot,” McCormack said. “It wasn’t a tremendous change or anything like that, but it just gets you and there might be a little bit of a snowball effect. But that can’t change. We’ve got to continue to do what we do, focus on that, and play for 60.”

Cheetham and senior midfielder Abbey Hurlbrink, a Towson resident and Bryn Mawr graduate, each had two goals and two assists for Johns Hopkins, and graduate student midfielder Jennifer Barry controlled a game-high eight draws. But the Blue Jays now find themselves in a tense situation.

Johns Hopkins must travel and defeat No. 24 Penn State (8-6, 3-2) on Thursday night to earn the No. 4 seed and earn the right to host a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal against the Nittany Lions again. A loss would send the Blue Jays on the road against either Maryland (11-4, 4-2), Michigan or Penn State in a quarterfinal.

As intriguing as those scenarios might be, McCormack said the team can’t harp on the what-ifs.

“We just take what’s right in front of us,” he said. “We’re going to focus on getting ourselves prepared each and every day. We’re going to focus on getting back to playing Blue Jay lacrosse and focus on trying to prevent runs and just keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

No. 8 Johns Hopkins at No. 24 Penn State

Thursday, 5:30 p.m.